Category Archives: Audio Archaeology

Trying Brian Eno’s 3-channel “ambient speaker system” is a blast

I’ve been a Brian Eno fan for decades. There are lots of interesting bits from his album packaging that stuck in my memory- like the set of post cards by Peter Schmidt mentioned on the cover of Before and After Science (which apparently come with the 2-LP reissue- now I need to get that). But the most intriguing is the 3-channel “ambient speaker system” proposed on the back cover of Ambient 4: On Land. In the text and with accompanying diagram, he describes a system where in addition to a stereo pair of front speakers, a third speaker is added. The third speaker is wired strangely: one wire goes to the positive terminal of the left speaker connection, the second goes to the positive terminal of the right speaker connection. (I call them “one” and the “other” because it doesn’t seem to matter which is left and which is right.)

Eno doesn’t quite understand what’s happening, but he suspects what is common to both speakers cancels out, and what is played by the third speaker is only information unique to one channel or the other. Therefore, if you have a mono recording, nothing is reproduced to the third channel.

I finally decided the pandemic was a good time to mess around with this setup, so I bought a single speaker of the same type as my primary pair that happened to be on ebay. It arrived a few days ago.

On my amplifier, it didn’t work to use the positive terminals of the “B” set of speakers. So instead I wired the third speaker directly with the “A” set already connected to the amp. Sure enough, it worked. That is also how Eno indicates it should be connected- see http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/onland-txt.html. So I guess that’s the only way it can work.

I situated the third speaker behind the couch, similar again to his diagram.

The result is, it’s been a lot of fun experiencing this pseudo surround sound. For albums with a lot of things happening in different channels, it’s been a real blast. The Flaming Lips’ Soft Bulletin now spawns an infinite dimension behind my head. Tujiko Noriko’s self-titled celebration of electronic avant-pop whirrs and whizzes around in the room. Bitchin’ Bajas Baja Fresh imparts a feeling like floating in space, calming and slightly disorienting. And yeah, Eno’s On Land is infinitely more fun, offering secret nooks and corners buried in the mix that make you feel like wandering around an island in the dark stubbing toes on roots and rocks.

I also confirmed mono albums send nothing to the speaker. If a recording has extreme stereo separation, the opposite is true. If you listen to rough mixes of the Beatles’ early three-track recordings (as found on the Anthologies) or a stereo version of their first, Please Please Me, this setup adds basically a mono channel behind you.

Since low frequencies are rarely confined to one channel or the other, your third speaker doesn’t have to be a big, full-ranged one. A satellite will do. for the most part you’ll hear mids and highs in the third speaker.

Anyway, it’s been a fun, cheap way to hear familiar albums like new again, something you might enjoy doing with your old gear while in lockdown.

Dusty Grooves 44: Electronic Pioneers, pt. 1

Part one of a two-part series. Non-definitive dip into the history of electronic music. Featuring mad scientist of experimental music, Daphne Oram; Mad Men meets synthesizers in the work of Raymond Scott; modern master David Sylvian; German noise outfit Der Plan; elegant works of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

Playlist

The Little Orchestra in Sonovox- Pop Goes the Weasel/Mary Had a Little Lamb, from

Little People’s Band in Forestland

Daphne Oram- Studio Experiment No.1, from Oramics

Daphne Oram- Lego Builds it,  from Oramics

Kemialliset Ystavat- Hyppivat saaret, from Kultaista Kaupunkia Etsimassa

Der Plan- San Jose Car Muzak from Geri Reig

Jean Jacques Perrey- Gossipo Perpetuo 7”

Charles Dodge- He Destroyed her Image, from OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music, 1948-1980

Kraftwerk- Kristallo, from Ralf und Florian
György Ligeti- Artikulation, from Ligeti

New Order- Truth, from Peel Sessions

Michael Salmons- Dawn Chorus, self-released

David Sylvian- the Only Daughter, from Blemish

Kraftwerk- The Model, from The Man-Machine

Hugh le Caine- Dripsody, from Various- Electronic Music

Raymond Scott- Cindy Electronium, from Manhattan Research, Inc.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark- Architecture and Morality, from Architecture and Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark- Time Zones, from Dazzle Ships

 

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Dusty Grooves: William Sydeman: In Memoriam, J.F. Kennedy (live radio broadcast)

[this is a part of the continuing Audio Archaeology series, where I explore the found reel-to-reels of past recording enthusiasts.]

In November of 1963, young American avant-garde composer William Sydeman was enjoying his major debut. Erich Leinsdorf was conducting a performance of his “Study #2” by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. During the performance, word made it to the concert hall about JFK’s assassination. Leinsdorf stopped the performance and made the announcement to a stunned audience. Leinsdorf found copies of the sheet music for Beethoven’s 3rd symphony, and led the orchestra in a performance of the slow movement- the funeral march- in memoriam. You can read more of the story here as well as hear part of that broadcast.

Three years later, to mark the third anniversary of JFK’s passing, Sydeman debuted a new piece called In Memoriam: J.F. Kennedy. It features a young-sounding EG Marshall reading from a speech of Kennedy’s. Once again, as in the interrupted broadcast, the performers are the Boston Symphony conducted by Erich Leinsdorf.

According to the liner notes, this performance was recorded live over the radio. Volume levels are a little erratic, I did my best to level them out. I do hope you enjoy this stirring piece.

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Dusty Grooves: Audio Archaeology- Bob Dylan Radio Special

[this is a part of the continuing Audio Archaeology series, where I explore the found reel-to-reels of past recording enthusiasts.]

Great White WonderThis is a partial recording off the radio of an audio career retrospective of Bob Dylan. There is quite a lot of commentary by Dylan biographer Anthony Scaduto. We can only speculate about where the story begins, but it’s clear the taper started late, just as the Basement Tapes story begins. In fact, it seems that perhaps the whole rationale for the special was the emergence of what is arguably rock music’s first bootleg release.

There were no program notes accompanying this Scotch 111 7-inch reel, but one thing we can tell for sure is this radio program came out after the release of Self Portrait in 1970 and before the official Columbia release of selected Basement Tapes in 1975. In the recording, Scaduto says more than once what a “pity” it was that the tapes had not been released officially.

After some introduction, four tracks from the Basement Tapes appear. The versions confirm these were bootlegged copies at the time of the radio production. “Nothing Was Delivered” is not the official Basement Tapes version- the only exposure the world at large would have to it for decades would be the plain white labeled “Great White Wonder” bootleg which appeared mysteriously at some record stores in 1969. Several radio stations picked up on this fairly quickly. The special featured here was probably not one of these first-line broadcasts; it does seem to be something produced in reaction to the release, though, apparently within a few years of the appearance of the bootleg. The version here is labeled “Take 2” on various later CD bootlegs such as The Complete Basement Tapes and A Tree With Roots.

After playing four tracks, plus a cover of “Too Much of Nothing” by Peter, Paul and Mary, the story continues with released material. The tape ends as we arrive at Self Portrait. Here’s a complete list of the tracks included:

Nothing was Delivered- Bob Dylan and the Band (unreleased version, alternate lyrics)

Too Much of Nothing- Peter Paul and Mary

Million Dollar Bash- Bob Dylan and the Band (eventually released officially on The Basement Tapes)

Apple Suckling Tree- Bob Dylan and the Band (unreleased version, alternate lyrics)

“Clothesline”- Bob Dylan and the Band (eventually released officially on The Basement Tapes)

John Wesley Harding- Bob Dylan (John Wesley Harding)

I Pity the Poor Immigrant- Bob Dylan (John Wesley Harding)

All Along the Watchtower- Bob Dylan (John Wesley Harding)

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight- Bob Dylan (John Wesley Harding)

Girl From the North Country (excerpt)- Bob Dylan (The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan)

Girl From the North Country- Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash (Nashville Skyline)

Lay Lady Lay- Bob Dylan (Nashville Skyline)

Country Pie- Bob Dylan (Nashville Skyline)

Take a Message to Mary- Bob Dylan (Self Portrait)

Enjoy.

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Audio Archaeology: A Yale Student’s final project, 1966

[this is a part of the continuing Audio Archaeology series, where I explore the found reel-to-reels of past recording enthusiasts.]

yale studentThis is the most interesting of my early finds with this collection. Some tapes appear to have been recorded with a portable recorder, then re-recorded onto the larger reels in this collection. Understandable, they wouldn’t want to lug their 50-pound Ampex two-track to Sprague Hall, Yale University School of Music for this performance. According to the sadly brief note, this is the performance of a student’s composition in 1966, “recorded at Sprague, copied at Moore’s.” The only evidence I see at the moment of a “Moore’s” in New Haven is a restaurant called Archie Moore’s. Moore could just be a friend or a hobbyist.

The composition is thoroughly of the 20th century avant-garde strain. It seems the collector’s interest fell firmly in that area- there is a fascinating tape devoted entirely to the avant-garde and musique concrete. Also it was recorded in stereo- I’m getting the idea if a tape is in stereo, this collector valued it.

Without further ado, here is the student’s composition, clocking in at over 20 minutes:

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Dusty Grooves: Audio Archaeology: A trip though a found tape collection

[this is a part of the continuing Audio Archaeology series, where I explore the found reel-to-reels of past recording enthusiasts.]

old Scotch tapesThis is the first installment of a series that will explore the contents of a reel-to-reel tape collection I acquired quite by accident. I’ve had reel to reel machines for years, and occasionally I re-stock tape by taking old reels off of people’s hands. This particular transaction was nothing unusual. I knew the tapes were old and used. They were part of the seller’s parents’ estate. Some notes were associated with the tapes, and as I thought they might contain info about their condition, I asked him to include them in the box.

The postman dropped off a big, heavy box about two weeks later. Inside were 63 tapes. The “notes” turned out to be a meticulous accounting of everything on all the reels, including index numbers for EVERY track. Program notes. Artists and composers. The collection is predominantly Classical, and in mono. A chunk is recorded from album, but a goodly portion was recorded from public radio stations in the New York City area in the 1960s. There are some hostcard catalog of tapes announcements, but like you find in many carefully assembled personal collections, the announcer has been removed except when they share biographical information about the composer or performers. I am still sifting through this treasure, listening for station IDs. I figure across 63 tapes recorded one program per track, two tracks per side, somewhere in there the taper neglected to cut out station information, and I will find it.

As I find interesting things, I will upload them to the cloud and share them here. I’ll be starting with something quite interesting and atypical in the collection, so do tune in next time.